Pain and Sleep Measures in Methadone and in Suboxone Patients

Abstract

Background: Pain and impaired sleep are often reported by patients in opiate substitution therapy. Objectives: We compared sleep and pain ratings by patients treated with methadone to those treated with suboxone (buprenorphine/naloxone combination). Patients and Methods: Sixty-eight patients (44 men, 24 women) undergoing opiate substitution treatment were treated with methadone (mean dose = 42.2 mg, SD = 24.6) or suboxone (mean dose = 9.7 mg, SD = 5.0). Their ratings of current level of pain on a scale from 0 (no pain) to 10 (extreme pain), their sleep ratings on the Pittsburgh sleep quality index, and outcomes of their urine screening tests for cocaine, oxycodone, opiates, and benzodiazepines were recorded. Results: Sleep quality was rated as “fairly bad” by 42.0% and as “very bad” by 8.2% of our patients. Moderate to severe levels of pain (pain ratings > 3 points) were reported by 55.9% of our patients. Neither the dose of suboxone nor the dose of methadone correlated with pain and sleep ratings (rho, P > 0.05). Suboxone patients did not differ from those on methadone in their sleep and pain ratings (Mann-Whitney, P > 0.05). Conclusions: Suboxone and methadone patients did not differ in their ratings of pain and sleep.